Gifts for Gardeners 2025
Yes, there are a lot of gift guides making the rounds this time of year. We’re all looking for the perfect thing that will delight and express our love in just the right way. (Related: if, like me, you feel ambivalent about the proliferation of gift guides, might I recommend a read of the fascinating article, A Brief Theory of the Modern Gift Guide by Anne Helen Petersen?)
If you take one thing away from this gift guide let it be this: as a small business owner and human being living through increasing wealth disparity fueled by exploitation and capitalism, I urge you to SHOP SMALL. The billionaires do not need your dollars, but the small businesses in your area absolutely do. Many of the items in the “tools” section below link to some bigger companies’ websites, but you can absolutely find these things at your local hardware store or garden center, so check there first. As for the local small businesses highlighted throughout the gift guide, I encourage you to use this as inspiration to find similar local artists etc. where you live, if you’re not near me.
Okay enough preamble, let’s get down to it. Do you have a gardener in your life and need some gifting inspiration to delight them? Or perhaps YOU are the gardener, and you’d like to send along this gift guide to YOUR loved ones for inspiration as they shop for you this season.
Take my garden-gloved hand, and let’s take a walk through this holiday market just for gardeners, full of tools, art, wearables, and pampering.
(By the way none of these, except for the Bookshop ones, are affiliate links. Just stuff I like.)
Art, Beauty, and Care
A bouquet subscription from a local flower farm is a gift that keeps giving all growing season. Here in Madison, I recommend Rosewood Circle Flowers and the Growing Good Flower Farm, who each have several subscription options.
Art made from preserved flowers by local artist Hinoki Florals, whom you can also find at local artists’ fairs around Madison.
Vases made by local artists to hold your loved one’s home-grown bouquets or a unique bud vase from the People’s Pottery Project.
Glow-in-the-dark preserved botanicals by Tyler Thrasher.
A gift certificate to a local sauna, like Saunaday here in Madison, to warm and rest their weary gardening muscles.
Physical therapy sessions so they can garden into old age.
An annual membership to a local botanical garden (like Olbrich Gardens here in Madison). Find reciprocal membership gardens here.
A gift certificate to a locally-owned garden center or plant nursery like K&A Greenhouse, The Bruce Company, Tend Native Plants, Sprig Native Plant Nursery, Two Ferns Native Nursery,
Tickets to your local garden expo—many take place in late winter or early spring. The Wisconsin Garden Expo is February 13-15, 2025 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.
Gardening books are always a good idea. Go browse your local indie bookstores for great books that will satisfy your loved one’s niche gardening interests. My favorite local bookstores for new books are Ink and Ivy, Mystery to Me, Garden Wall, A Room of One’s Own, and The Book Deal for used books. Or, support independent bookstores (and me!) by shopping through my affiliate profile at Bookshop.org. I have some lists of recommended books for gardeners there.
Wearables
These hats will let everyone know that your giftee likes gardening, even when they’re not actively engaged in the activity.
Flora-inspired jewelry from a local small business like Good Day Shop or Artsy Fartsy here in Madison can remind them that spring is always coming.
A puffer coat in a gorgeous dahlia print, or a hand-panted candle by local Madison artist and cookbook author Erin Gleeson of The Forest Feast.
A more serious but light sun hat with optional ponytail hole!
Farmers Defense protection sleeves to prevent sunburn and scratches in hot weather.
I wear Duluth Trading overalls all season. The Heirloom Gardening Bib Overalls come in a great range of colors and patterns. And don’t forget the neoprene knee pad inserts for those overalls!
My favorite garden gloves are these from Digz. They’re slightly tacky which is great for weeding and they keep out dirt and moisture like none others I have tried. I also like these lighter-weight ones for less heavy-duty tasks. And if your gardening loved one tends roses or other thorny plants, they might appreciate these.
Tools
A strong, sharp soil knife is an absolute must for every gardener; I use mine for so many tasks. This one from AM Leonard is the best, in my opinion. You can also get your loved one a little holster for it. Or splurge on a really nice leather garden tool belt according to their hand orientation.
A CobraHead weeder (a Wisconsin company!) is also a wonderful tool they might not already have. I use it for weeding but it comes in handy for so many other garden tasks once you have it in your hand. They make a long-handled version also, for those who want to spend less time kneeling.
Wisconsin-based company Dramm makes the best watering wand and it comes in a rainbow of delightful colors. I have a purple one (shocking, I know). This one has 9 watering patterns to choose from which come in handy for a variety of needs. You can often find these at your local garden center.
An electric edger-trencher is a great tool for anyone who expands their garden beds a lot, or likes to make a nice clean edge on existing beds every year. I recommend this one specifically because it has enough power to make a deeper trench as opposed to a cordless electric edger.
Shears, snips, and loppers are always appreciated. Even if your giftee already has them, it’s good to have a few pairs for when one is inevitably lost in the compost pile. Felco 2 pruners are my favorite pruners (along with everyone else). Bypass loppers like these come in handy and are quite durable for pruning shrubs year after year. You can usually find them at your local garden center.
A poly scoop like this one is a really nice thing to have for a gardener who does a lot of mulching (and orders it in bulk for delivery in their driveway). Big scoops are needed this task and, while a lot of people have a metal shovel in this shape, I like a poly shovel because I can’t stand the sound of metal scraping against pavement. You can probably find one like this at your local hardware store, garden center, or home improvement store.
A smart watering timer so that the gardener in your life can take a vacation in the summer! The b-hyve smart hose watering timer connects to your home wifi so that the settings can be adjusted from afar to respond to weather changes when you’re not at home.
An outlet timer for your gardening friend who starts seeds indoors. They can set a schedule and plug their lights and fans into it so that their seedlings get that optimal 16 hours of light a day without worry. I have this one and it works great.
Finally…
Give the gift of garden consulting! Do you have a loved one who could use a little help in the garden? Do you know someone moving into a new house who doesn’t know where to start with their new yard? Give them an hour (or more!) of my time as a gift this year! Contact me for a gift certificate and see my services page for offerings.
